50 Years Ago
From the Polar Star, Apr. 11, 1958

Through the Keyhole
by Dragnet

Men lounging on sofas out on Hess Hall’s front entrance; Ron Thiel wearing pedal pushers, Linda practicing for the baseball season: Ken trying to water ski on a mud puddle: Helen trying to pull a youngster out of a mud hole only to fall in herself; new romances – what do these indicate? Spring of course. The coming of spring is a welcome sight after the long cold winter months. Nerland Hall thinks so too, as they’re having a spring dance to welcome this new season tomorrow evening. Dragnet will be there to see if you’re there so come one, come all to what will be a spectacular dance put on by some spectacular people.

25 years ago:
The Sun Star, Apr. 15, 1983

Tropical turtle washed ashore
By John Fridrich

The variety of birds flying north for the summer is as sure a sign of spring as any, but word of Alaska’s attractions to the animal kingdom must be spreading if the discovery of a tropical sea turtle washed up on the shores of the Alaska Peninsula is any indication.
Normally found in the tropical zones of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, the leatherback sea turtle found dead near Perryville over a month ago is occasionally discovered in temperate latitudes, according to Nora Foster, coordinator of the aquatic collection at the University of Alaska Museum.
Contacted recently by a Perryville school teacher regarding the unusual find, Foster had arranged to have the specimen shipped to Fairbanks so University of Alaska-Fairbanks scientists could examine the turtle, which is listed as an endangered species. Perryville is a small fishing village located approximately 300 miles southwest of Kodiak.
A crate was built, but due to the size of the animal, estimated to weigh 700 pounds at length of five to six-feet, the small plane which services Perryville was unable to transport the cargo.
Foster had called the herpetology department at the California Academy of Sciences for instructions on how to handle the specimen. Then with the help of Beth Garrison and others at Perryville’s school, Foster had made plans to fly the turtle to King Salmon, freeze it there, then put it on a plane for Fairbanks.
But with the limitations of air travel in remote villages, local scientists won’t have the opportunity to study the large turtle.
The cold may have helped slow decomposition somewhat, Foster said, but she was told by Garrison that after transporting the turtle was ruled out, the reptile was boiled with the bones that remained to be used for educational purposes….